Society's ChildS


Heart

Snowden escaped the clutches of U.S. with help from Hong Kong asylum seekers

Snowden film
The tall, lanky American dressed in all black looked familiar. But Ajith, a 44-year-old Sri Lankan refugee seeking asylum in Hong Kong figured the nervous-looking man with the red-rimmed eyes fidgeting in the darkness outside the United Nations building in the Tsim Sha Tsui district of Kowloon was a U.S. army dodger.

Summoned by his immigration lawyer in the late evening of June 10, 2013, Ajith (last names of the refugees in this story have been withheld), a former soldier in the Sri Lankan military, was told the unidentified man was "famous" and needed "protection." Little else was revealed except that he would be responsible for covertly moving the American around at a moment's notice.

"I was very happy to help him," Ajith recalled during a recent interview with the National Post in his small windowless room in Kennedy Town, on the western tip of Hong Kong Island. "This famous person was a refugee too, same as me."

Earlier that day, that "famous" 29-year-old walked out of the five-star luxury Hotel Mira in Kowloon and sparked an intensive global manhunt not seen since the search for al-Qaeda's Osama Bin Laden after the Sept. 11, 2001, bombings.

Edward Snowden, a former U.S. intelligence contractor, became the most wanted fugitive in the world after leaking a cache of classified documents to the media detailing extensive cyber spying networks by the U.S. government on its own citizens and governments around the world.

To escape the long arm of American justice, the man responsible for the largest national security breach in U.S. history retained a Canadian lawyer in Hong Kong who hatched a plan that included a visit to the UN sub-office where the North Carolina native applied for refugee status to avoid extradition to the U.S.

Fearing the media would surround and follow Snowden — making it easier for the Hong Kong authorities to arrest the one-time Central Intelligence Agency analyst on behalf of the U.S. — his lawyers made him virtually disappear for two weeks from June 10 to June 23, 2013, before he emerged on an Aeroflot airplane bound for Moscow, where he remains stranded today in self-imposed exile.

Comment: The refugees who graciously accepted Snowden into their homes are now being assisted by Snowden supporters who are working to raise money to help the asylum-seekers. The refugees are also hoping that the publicity from the movie will encourage the Hong Kong government to finally take action on their cases. They are part of a group of 11,000 foreigners waiting for their asylum applications to be issued by the Chinese government and many have experienced similar circumstances when fleeing their countries.


USA

Jill Stein decries her exclusion from the presidential debates

Jill Stein
© MediaPunch/Rex/Shutterstock
Presidential debates should be an opportunity for the American people to decide the direction of our nation. But since 1987, everything about the debates has been predetermined by the party bosses who run Washington.

Consider that 76% of Americans want the presidential debates to include Gary Johnson and me. Yet the phony Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD) is trying to rob voters of the open debates they want.

The CPD is actually a private corporation that refuses to disclose its current funders or sponsors. The Democratic and Republican National Committees both select its leaders. The CPD literally excludes the 50% of voters who reject their parties.

This two-party cartel posing as a public service "commission" admitted in a 1987 press conference that independent candidates and alternative political parties should be excluded from the debates, and they create artificial barriers to exclude them.

Comment: Presidential debates are pure theater and elections are a farce. Jill Stein is wishing for a reality that will never be.


Binoculars

Third clown sighted in Piedmont Triad near Greensboro, North Carolina - UPDATE

Clown lures children
Greensboro Police on Tuesday morning received a call about another clown sighting in the Piedmont Triad.

The sighting occurred at The Park at Oakridge apartments off Old Oak Ridge Road not far from Interstate 73. A man said he saw a clown near the wooded area behind the complex at about 10 a.m.

Chris Bass told FOX8 he lives at the complex with his wife and two children. He was on his balcony when he spotted a man in a white mask, red curly hair, yellow dotted shirt, blue clown pants and clown shoes in the wooded area. Bass tried to chase the clown but could not catch him. He called his actions his "fatherly instinct."

In a news release from the Greensboro Police Department, officials said it is lawful to dress as a clown, but "given the heightened tensions about these entertainers," they are "discouraging copycat behavior by individuals who may find it humorous to mimic the suspicious behavior that has parents on edge." "Copycats" unnecessarily alarm the public, and place an unnecessary drain on police resources, officials said.

Comment: Professional clowns are bearing the brunt of this disturbing hoax (?):
Just this week, we've heard of at least six reported clown sightings between Greensboro, High Point, Winston-Salem and Rural Hall. Whether the reports are real have certainly concerned parents and puzzled law enforcement.

It's proving to be a serious situation for professional clowns. So much so, one clown couple has considered giving up the profession altogether. They say they don't have many other options. ... "I'm angry because what we've worked so hard for, they're ruining, it's sadness because I don't understand why they would have to do it," admitted Lisa. Now they say they're scared to go out in public in costume.



People

Americans are more politically polarized than ever with millennials more conservative than you think

millennials
Millennials: born between 1980 and 1994.
It might be time to rethink the millennial voter.

A new paper suggests that Americans are more politically polarized now than they've been in the past 46 years, and millennials are guiding this trend.

The young adults, who were born between 1980 and 1994, are currently more politically polarized than Generation Xers and Baby Boomers, according to the paper, which was published in the journal Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin on Wednesday.

Additionally, millennials are more likely to identify as conservative than either Generation Xers or Baby Boomers were at the same age, said Jean Twenge, professor of psychology at San Diego State University and lead author of the paper.

"High school seniors are more likely to identify as political conservatives now compared to 10 years ago. Most surprising, more identify as conservatives now compared to the 1980s, presumably the era of the young conservative, such as the character Alex P. Keaton in the 1980s show 'Family Ties.' That goes against the common view of millennials as very liberal," said Twenge, author of the book about millennials titled "Generation Me."

Comment: Our nation is headed to hell in a handbasket and voting won't change that.


Question

Russian author Gennady Sokolov: Tycoon Berezovsky murdered in 2013 by UK spies for Prince Philip 'porn pics'

Berezovsky
© Andrew Winning/ReutersBoris Berezovsky, a murky past, a murky death.
Russian business tycoon Boris Berezovsky was assassinated by British spies after threatening to hand over scandalous photos of Prince Philip to Moscow, a Russian intelligence expert and author has said.

Critics of Russian President Vladimir Putin have long speculated that one-time billionaire Berezovsky was murdered by pro-Putin hitmen in 2013. But Moscow espionage author Gennady Sokolov has now pointed the finger at British spies, insisting the killing was connected with scandalous photos of Prince Philip, according to British tabloid the Sun.

The alleged photos, taken in the 1950s at the Thursday Club - a drinking and social set of which Prince Philip was a member - reportedly show the Duke of Edinburgh at a party with other club members and half-naked women. Prince Philip is said to have been fully clothed in the pictures.

The snaps are believed to have been taken by Prince Philip's photographer friend Baron Nahum, but were reportedly copied by a Soviet spy, Evgeny Ivanov, who brought them to the USSR during the Cold War, the writer claims. The same Evgeny Ivanov seduced Christine Keeler, the lover of then-British War Minister John Profumo.

According to Sokolov, Berezovsky acquired the photographs at some point, and likely handed them over to the British authorities - taking them out of circulation and preventing the risk of a media frenzy which could have left the Duke of Edinburgh red-faced. Sokolov believes such a move would have been part of an effort by Berezovsky to get into the good books of the British government, as he was aiming to gain political asylum in the country.

Comment: This is Sokolov's third for sure theory on Berezovsky's death. Others have speculated about a heart attack, suicide, and strangulation. Due to previous attempts on Berezovsky's life, he employed ex-spies from the Mossad as bodyguards. In addition, he had health issues treated in Israel, heavy debts, faced bankruptcy, massive lawsuit losses and account freezes. A plethora of reasons, plus contradictory evidence, entertain a plethora of theories. Brits protecting their own? As good as any other.

See also:


Cowboy Hat

'Enemy kills': Three former US Air force drone operators back Yemeni victims' lawsuit

Yemen wall painting
© Khaled Abdullah
Three former military veterans who were once involved in the US drone program are supporting a Yemeni man's lawsuit demanding answers about why his family members were killed in a 2012 strike.

All three vets ‒ Brandon Bryant, Lisa Ling and Cian Westmoreland ‒ worked on the Obama administration's covert drone killing program and filed an amicus curiae, or "friend of the court" brief, in Jaber v Obama in the US District Court of Appeals in Washington, DC.

"Contrary to Executive Branch claims that the program operates with strict adherence to international legal principles and state sovereignty, amici witnessed a secret, global system without regard for borders, conducting widespread surveillance with the ability to conduct deadly targeting killing operations," stated the veterans' 17-page filing, urging the court to overturn a previous decision to throw out Jaber's case.

People

Indian workers staged one of the largest strikes in history: No one on U.S. cable news covered it

workers rally against Modi's economic policies
© Ajay Verma/Reuters
Ten Indian trade unions staged one of the largest strikes in human history on Friday, with tens of millions of public sector workers participating in a shutdown of parts of the Indian economy to protest Prime Minister Narendra Modi's economic plans.


Comment: Union officials said about 180 million workers, including state bank employees, school teachers, postal workers, miners and construction workers, were participating, but the figure could not be independently verified.


But if you're an American relying on cable news, it would be hard to know it ever happened.

Not a single American cable news network ran a segment focused on India's massive strike, even on Labor Day, the U.S.'s annual holiday dedicated to workers.

Comment: Modi has ambitious plans for the densely populated country: Narendra Modi's new world: First 100 days,10 top moves

And is seen to be popular: India under Modi: Pew survey shows national pride has never been this high since 1970


Bulb

Paralyzed man considers suing EasyJet after being removed from flight

easyjet flight
© Jacky Naegelen / Reuters
A hemiplegic Frenchman with a half-paralyzed body who was removed from an EasyJet flight after he had already been helped to get on board found the experience humiliating and is now considering taking the airline to court.

The incident took place on Monday when 33-year-old Nicolas Morvan boarded a flight from Bordeaux - Mérignac International Airport to Lyon. He was traveling to Lyon for the baptism of his niece.

Airport staff helped Morvan, who has difficulties moving, to board the flight, and EasyJet staff approached him only when he was already sitting in his seat.

"The cabin staff asked me if I could take life vest and move to an exit door in case of emergency... I answered 'No' as my mother had already noted in the questionnaire a few days earlier," he said in an interview to Sud-Ouest newspaper.

Then cabin staff went to consult with the captain and then returned to explain that Morvan couldn't be accommodated on the plane without special assistance. Morvan's neighbor volunteered to help, but his assistance was reportedly rejected.

Question

Brown University: Free tampons to be handed out in women's and men's bathrooms

man with tampon
Brown University's student body president will be hand-delivering menstrual products to all nonresidential bathrooms on campus, including men's rooms, with the help of 20 other students.

Viet Nguyen, President of the Undergraduate Council of Students, announced the initiative in a campus-wide email Tuesday, saying he wants to communicate the message that not all people who menstruate are women, according to Newsweek.


Comment: Seriously?! Menstruation is right up there with having breasts and a vagina as one of the hallmarks of womanhood.


"There's been a lot of conversation about why pads and tampons are a necessity, not a luxury, but not a lot of action. We wanted to take it into our own hands," Nguyen explains in the email, observing that "low-income students struggle with having the necessary funding for food, let alone tampons."

Comment: There is nothing wrong with handing out free menstrual products but handing them out in male bathrooms defies all logic. This gender inclusivity nonsense is absolute lunacy.


Red Flag

Italy decriminalizes public masturbation

italy flag
© Stefano Rellandini / ReutersCulprits will face a fine, but no prison time
Those who like to play with their sausage and meatballs in the company of others have a new Mecca after Italy's Supreme Court declared public masturbation is not a criminal offense.

The decision overruled the sentence of a 69-year-old man for "taking out his penis" and "practicing autoeroticism" outside a university in Catania. The court ruled the "act is not included in the law as a crime," according to La Republica, eliminating his three month prison sentence.

The culprit, known as "Pietro L," still faces a hefty fine of between €5,000 to €30,000, but he is free to roam and play with himself in the streets.

Last year, the Italian parliament decriminalized lurking in places frequented by young girls with the intention of masturbating in front of them, paving the way for this more recent ruling.